Human Error

C H A P T E R 4 COGNITIVE UNDERSPECIFICATIONS AND ERROR FORMS

HKR-6350 Subject Supervisor: Professor Dr. Scott N. MacKinnon Author Syed Nasir Danial Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. Johns NL CANADA

Outline
2

Recall the term error form as explained in chap. 1. Factors on which error forms primarily depend Similarity and Frequency (corresponding to which there are two error forms, similarity-matching and frequency biases) What is cognitive underspecification? What factors may cause

it?

How this underspecification links with error forms? Effects of underspecification upon the Retrieval of Semantic

Knowledge.

Error Forms (revisited)

3

Assuming that the primary error types are

Mistakes Lapses Slips

(in cognitive stage of planning) (in cognitive stage of storage) (in cognitive stage of execution)

Error types are differentiated according to the

performance level in which they occur. appear in all types of cognitive stages.

Error forms are recurrent varieties of fallibility that

Error forms are omnipresent and are not dependent on

cognitive stages (also called performance levels) and they are present in universal cognitive processes particularly in knowledge retrieval.

The specification of mental operations

4 Cognitive structures Properties

Sensory inputs

Working memory [Attentional Control]

*Conscious *Selective and resource limited *Slow, laborious, and serial *Intermittently analytical *Computationally powerful *Unconscious *Apparently unlimited *Fast, effortless, and parallel *Automatic in operation *Support two basic heuristic operations: (a) Match like to like, and (b) Resolve multiple matches in favor of most frequent items

Knowledge base (long-term memory) [Schematic Control]

Figure 1. The two modes of cognitive control: (a) Attentional control associated with working memory (or the conscious workspace) and (b) schematic control derived from the knowledge base.

The specification of mental operations (contd.)

5

Mental operations are specified by means of a

schema which is brought into play by means of activators.

Correct Performance in any sphere of mental activity

is achieved by activating the right schemata in the right order at the right time.

The specification of mental operations (contd.)

6
SPECIFIC ACTIVATORS *Current Intention *Present Context *Related Schemata

guides

Cognitive Control:
Working & Long-term memory

SCHEMA

GENERAL ACTIVATORS *Recency *Frequency *Shared Elements *Affective charge

SCHEMA OUTPUTS *Actions *Words *Images *Percepts *Feelings

An Example Schema activation

7

Let us consider a situation that a person need to go

to buy grocery from some departmental store (the location is known).

Schema The schema should comprise how to reach to the location, say for example, which bus to take, which roads to follow, etc. So a kind of a complete description of how to reach and what means are required are stored in the schema. Because the person has performed this activity several times.

Schema Outputs The output of the schema would be actions, words, etc. For example, getting up, picking up the purse then putting it in pocket, moving to the bus stop, and so on.

Specific Activators 9 These are factor which bring a given schema into play at a particular time when the activity requires intention. For example, the need to buy grocery brings into play an intentional activity and activate the corresponding or related schema. However, the intended actions would vary in detail from person to person (or based on past frequency of the actions). For adults, these details might be just descriptions like go to the store and buy some grocery items. There is no need of detail here if the frequency of occurrence of the set of actions is high. Because in this case this detail would be there with the respective schema.

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Specific Activators & Error Types Since actions are decentralized in case of a routine activity, specific information rests with the schemata and to change an established course of actions a positive intervention by the attentional control mode (working memory) is required. In case of preoccupation or distraction the attentional control mode may not intervene and this is the most common case of absent minded-slips.

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General Activators

These are factors which provide background

activation to schemata irrespective of the current intentional state or context. Some of these factors are:

Recency Frequency of prior use Attributes shared by other schemata Any emotional or motivational factors

Frequency of prior use is the most important factor.

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For example, to buy grocery, a person goes to Sobeys.

But this time he had decided to go to Walmart. Chances are that when he goes for buying things he might take the route to Sobeys rather than to Walmart because of the frequency of use of the schema for going to Sobeys.

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Specifications (of mental operations) are

context dependent Each schema for some mental operation is acquired in relation to a particular context. Any subsequent encounter with that context would raise the schemas level of activation. The contextual information for a schema is stored in the schemas knowledge package.

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The Effects of Priming

Priming is an implicit memory effect in which

exposure to a stimulus influences a response to a later stimulus. It can occur following perceptual, semantic, or conceptual stimulus repetition.
For example, if a person reads a list of words

including the word table, and is later asked to complete a word starting with tab, the probability that he will answer table will be high.

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Semantic Priming

In semantic priming, the prime and the target are from the same semantic category and share features. For example, the word dog is a semantic prime for wolf, because the two are both similar animals. Other types of priming are perceptual priming, conceptual priming, etc. (see Tulving (1990))

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Semantic Context Hotopf (1980) states that:

If the word we intend to speak is highly associated with another word that meets the contextual constraints operating within the utterance , then, given a certain time limit, that other word may be produced instead

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Three Recent Studies to prove existence of

semantic context

The First Study (Reason & Mackintosh, 1986) It uses a problem earlier described by Kimble & Perlmuter, 1970 and is based on oak-yolk primes upon the naming of white of an egg. The questions are described in Table 1. Details of Experiment A total of 80 subjects divided into 4 groups each of 20 subjects were used. Each subject was questioned individually, and no testing session lasted more than about 3 minutes.

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One group was asked question having no prime Other groups were asked question with 1, 3, or five oak-yolk primes. Result of the First Study Erroneous yolk answers increase with the number of prior rhyme primes. The frequency of primes has a direct effect on the answer. The presence of common phonological elements also play vital role in determining the likelihood of a yolk response. Note that this frequency of primes, and phonological common played here as general activators.

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No. 1 2 3 4 5

Questions What do we call a funny story? What sound does a frog make? What is another word for cape? What do you call the white of an egg?

Answer Joke Croak Cloak Yolk (mistake)

What do we call a tree that grows from acorns? Oak

Table 1. List of questions based on oak-yolk primes upon the white of an egg.

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The Second Study (Reason & Mackintosh, 1986) Details of Experiment Three groups of 20 students, subjects received either 3, 5 or 7 shell primes the egg shell, i.e., the primes targeting the word shell. Questions are those eliciting monosyllabic answers rhyming with the word shell, e.g., bell, tell, etc. Result Only 2 out of 60 subjects produced erroneous answer shell in response to the key question, although shell is almost as strongly associated egg as the yolk!!! This suggests that the contextual frames are relative impermeable with respect to semantic.

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The Third Study (Reason & Mackintosh, 1986) To test the relative impermeability of the contextual frame this third study is designed. Here the prime is set to yolk and the key question targets the outer of the egg rather than white. Two groups of ten were used and one groups was simply asked the question, What do you call the outside of an egg?. Result All the subjects in both groups produce correct shell answer.

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Collective Results of the Three Studies

The strength of phonological or shared-element

priming within the appropriate semantic context is incremental in nature. The priming effect from one contextual frame to another are relatively absent.

Similarity & Frequency: cognitive primitives

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Similarity means the degree of likeness between

events or objects Frequency means the prior occurrences of the events Similarity and frequency information appear to be processed automatically without conscious effort or without even the awareness. These are considered as computational primitives of the cognitive system (covered in Chapter 5)

Demonstrations of underspecification
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The specification of cognitive process lacks some

information. Cases are discussed here:

Word Identification Problem

Word frequency effect is as described by Newbiggin (1961): When a word is presented at a short duration, only a few letters or a fragment of the word is seen by the subject. This fragment may be common to a number of words, and if the subject is instructed to guess the word presented he will respond with the word of the greatest frequency of occurrence which incorporates the fragment.

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For example: let the word presented for a short duration is, conscience and then later after sometime the subject is asked to reproduce what was presented then he might produce conscious or any other word (containing the common part consci) he has more exposure of .

This means that seeing fragments of low frequency words are likely to fall in situations when the subject perceives an erroneous high-frequency word sharing the same feature. This changes the understanding of the subject, e.g., on a TV program recorded in some foreign language, say in Arabic, an English speaker, perceiving the English translation that is shown at the bottom may fall into wrong perception because of the word identification problem.

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Word Recall from a verbal list Commonly occurring words have tendency to appear earlier than the ones less frequent. Category Generation Categories for example four-footed animals, precious stones, units of time, relatives, metals, etc. If groups of people are made and asked to generate n exemplars in each category, where there are a total number of m categories. The items generated by each group has a correlation with those generated by other groups.

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The items in each groups under specific category

repeats in other groups (dominance of items), for example, the first 10 groups might write dog in the category, four-footed animals, etc. Similarly, if dog is the first item in all 10 groups (recency). (Bousfield & Barclay, 1950) Several investigators have found substantial correlations between the dominance of a particular item and its average position in the output order. The most popular exemplars appear earliest.

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These correlations ranged from 0.88 and 0.97.

(Battig

& Montague, 1969): For 56 semantic categories, correlation ranges between 0.252 and 0.857. The Fishers z-transform of the two experiments then calculated using
z=0.5ln ((1+r)/(1-r)).

And the mean dominance-order correlation is found to be 0.64.

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When the same correlations are computed for only

the 20 most dominant types in each category, this mean value rises to 0.76. This is quite natural because in the later all category types were taken into account and the sample contained both dominant as well as less dominant types. These findings are consistent with the work of Underwood & Schulz (1960) and Bousfield & Barcklay (1950).

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In a recent study of category generation performed

in the authors lab; the relation between output order and frequency of encounter (without dominance order) is calculated. The results showed that the

The items produced early in the output sequence are judged as

more recent, more frequent, more known, more affectively charged ???

than those generated later.

 Recurrent Intrusion in blocked memory searches

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The hypothesis is: recurrent

intruders in tip-of-the-tongue states (TOTs) are analogous to the strong habit intrusions observed in action slips. (Reason & Lucas, 1948a). Recurrent intruders are recognizably wrong names / words that continued to block access to target during deliberate search periods.

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Bases of the Hypothesis is the earlier study of Freud (1901) where he observed that When we are laboriously searching memory for a known name or word whose retrieval is temporarily blocked (the target), other items project themselves with great persistence. Although the other items are recognized immediately as false.
Causes of Tip-of-the-Tongue Phenomenon
The target item has low strength in memory but enough to activate a wrong schema (underspecification) A blocker blocks the correct word (prior frequency of use of blocker and its similarity with target is high) Bilinguals produce more TOTs (except for proper names) than monolinguals. Problem of recalling increases with age.

Direct Access View Blocking Hypothesis Bilingual vs. Monolingual Ageing

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An Experiment is conducted where 16 volunteers

kept diaries of their TOT states over a period of four weeks. For each resolved TOT, they were required to make a set of standardized ratings. Results The study yielded data for 40 TOTs; 28 of these (70%) involved presence of recurrent intruders. Recurrent intruders are found to be more recently and frequently used than both the related target and

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non-recurrent intermediate solution.

In 50% of the TOT states the blocking word is found

to be have rank higher than the target for frequency and recency.

Conclusion The recurrent intruders emerge in TOT states when

the fragmentary retrieval cues / signs are sufficient to local the general context for searching but are not able to provide complete specification (or are underspecification) to give a unique schema to come into play.

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Conditions for a blocker to appear

The recurrent blocker has a high level of activation at the time of the search, where this is probably due to its high use in near past. It has a close structure and / or phonological resemblance than the target.

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Slips of the tongue As with TOT states, slips of the tongue show marked similarities between the actual (wrong one!) and target (intended) utterences. (see Fromkin, 1973, 1980). Slips of actions Occur in highly autmatised tasks in very familiar surroundings while experiencing some form of attentional capture, due to pre-occupation or distraction. When we get in our car to drive to place A and find ourselves instead on the road to a more familiar place B. Such happenings are mainly due to strong habit intrusions, possessing structural or contextual elements in common with the planned actions.

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Failures of Prospective Memory An intention and its corresponding action has a small

delay time. During this time the intention must be kept in a special intention store called prospectivememory. There is little known about the properties of this intention-store (Harris & Wilkins, 1982; Baddeley & Wilkins, 1984; Harris, 1984). Failures of prospective memory, i.e., forgetting to remember to carry out intended actions at a specific time & place, is a common human fallibility (Reason & Mycielska, 1982).

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Planning for uncertain futures

Another source of underspecification is the need for

future planning in any sphere of life. Because plans are always based upon best guesses about the future state of the world (or scenario in question) These guesses emerge from a complex interaction between the perception of the current state, i.e., the present, and the recall of the previous states, i.e., the past. However, both the perceptual and the knowledge elements (which are used in the complex interaction) of this appraisal can be incomplete or incorrect.

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Pathological underspecification

These are erroneous behaviors emerge due to various

kinds of mental disorders and brain damage.

Frontal lobe damage

(Luria, 1973) main problem is that the patient finds inability to formulate or sustain an organized plan of The frontal lobe (red), the parietal lobe (orange), the future actions. temporal lobe (green), and
the occipital lobe (yellow).

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The goal directed linkages between one action

schema and the next seem to be weakened or never properly established, so that the course of action is readily captured by the presence of well-trodden actions paths in the vicinity. For example, one such patient when asked to light a candle struck a match correctly but instead of putting it to the candle which he held in his hand, he put the candle in his mouth and started to smoke it like a cigarette.

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Schizophrenic thought and language

Schizophrenia is a major mental illness that causes changes in perception, thoughts and behavior. Chapman and Chapman (1973) have argued that many of these patients apparently strange utterances reflect an excessive yielding to normal biases, in particular to the tendency to substitute strong associates for appropriate responses. For example a patient when asked to list her family members, began with Father, son, but the concluded with, and the Holy Ghost.

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Boland & Chapman (1971), Willner (1965). Normal subjects are found to choose associative alternatives on multiple-choice vocabulary items when they do not know the correct answer.

Many other authors attribute attentional deficiencies as the basis for the prevalence of these strong-associativesubstitutions in schizophrenic thought and language (see Jung, 1960; Broen & Storms, 1966, and Venables, 1964)

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Limb Apraxia (kinetic) Limb-kinetic apraxia is mental disorder where patient faces difficulty making precise movements with an arm or leg caused by a damage or disorder in specific areas of cerebrum. The cerebrum is the most anterior (or, in humans, most superior) region of the vertebrate central nervous system and it controls all kinds of body motion. Roy (1982) finds similarities between the slips of actions observed in normal subjects and those exhibited with limb apraxia due to cortical injury in the motor system.

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Roy (1982) categorizes such patients as following into three major classes:
Patients Type I Type II Type III Actions Repeating tendency Actions are correct but out of context (e.g., using a pencil as a comb) Omission of action (no action). Patients knows what he must do but unable to perform the action on command

The precise nature of the underspecification in such patients is not clear. Roy (1982) argues that there are various factors which are likely to be involved in their production.

Taking Stock Summary of Section 3 45

Section 3 presents sufficient evidence to demonstrate

the possible varieties of cognitive underspecification. Reasons for inadequate specification (or underspecification) are abound of which some are:

Incomplete or ambiguous inputs Fragmentary retrieval cues (signs) Incomplete or inaccurate knowledge (e.g. in planning for future) Losses from prospective memory Spillage from the conscious workspace Intentional limitations

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Normal or pathologically induced failures of attentional monitoring.

But regardless of this diversity of the possible kinds

of underspecification, the outcomes are remarkably similar. The cognitive system tends to generate responses that:

Are more familiar, more expected and more frequentlyencountered than those that might have been intended or judged correct. Are context bound in two senses:
They conform to the current physical situation They conform to the semantic context of the prevailing intention.

Convergent & Divergent Memory Searches

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Convergent Search

Specific cues: 4-footed animal, Pet, barks, etc.

Target word: Dog

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Divergent Search

Dog, Cat, Horse, Cow, Sheep, Camel, etc. Category: 4-footed animals

The Retrieval of Incomplete Semantic Knowledge

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Retrieval Mechanism involves at least four kinds of

cognitive activity:

Frequency information as the basis of epistemic awareness

Epistemic awareness means the feelings of knowing (FOK) about what one knows. If a person has awareness about a specific word / item that he knows it then it is very much likely that he would produce correct and related information about the same word. (Hart, 1965; Arbuckle & Cuddy, 1969; Blake, 1973; Gruneberg & Sykes, 1978; King, et. al, 1980; Zechmeister & Nyberg, 1982; Reason& Lucas, 1984a) says argues that adults are able to make reasonable judgments of their subsequent success in an effortful memory search.

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If a particular item is asked, the search depends on the frequency that the stored item has been encountered in the past or have cooccurred with other items (Hasher & Zacks, 1984)

Similarity Matching
It means to match the calling conditions (retrieval cues) ask in a question to the attributes of knowledge items stored in semantic memory. It is a primary basis of memory search.

Frequency-gambling

If similarity matching response is in negative (because of insufficient or in appropriate cues). As a result, partially matched candidate can be activated selection from among these is biased on frequency of prior use.

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Inference
(Warren, et. al (1979) They fulfill two general functions. They establish connections between the propositions available in a question (calling conditions) and stored knowledge items, which also allow integration of both new and old information into a coherent body of knowledge. Since knowledge is always incomplete, they help the memory user to fill in the gaps (see Bartlett, 1932; Schank, 1982). Example: If it is asked: Which US president was the first to travel in an aeroplane? Hardly anybody knows the right answer. But one would start thinking from, when was the first commercial aeroplane launched, sometime in 1920s. Ok who were the presidents at that time? Wilson, Harding and Coolidge.

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Fact: But Wilson was very sick

Inference: Wilson should not be allowed for flight.

Fact: Since presidents, being politicians, are quick to

tackle new ways of reaching the voters. Inference: It was probably Harding rather than Coolidge.

This may, however, not be the right answer.

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Serial & Parallel Search Processes In the previous example, the inference mechanism seems to be highly serial but there are always intermittent burst of parallel searches which occur during the course of drawing inferences. For example, during the previous inference, it suddenly come to mind the year of the first manned flight (whether it is wholly or partially relevant), the condition of the first commercial aviation flight, etc.

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An example study: The buck stops here Who says this? Facts: buck suggests, American sayings are always from famous people. The most famous Americans are American Presidents, despite of Michael Jacksons Thriller. The author hints out that only 39 candidate American Presidents would be a part of search space after some initial inferential work. But who among 39, is a question, when asked by a group of people the most common answer found is Nixon.

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Figure: Two distributions are plotted: p(recall), the probability of recall of 23 American presidents; p(attrib.) the probability of attributing buck quotation to a particular president. In descending p(recall), the first eight presidents are: Reagan, Kennedy, Carter, Nixon, FDR, Lincoln, Washington and Ford. Truman the correct answer is number 12.

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The author put the question to 126 British

psychology students, who, on average, knew the names of 9 presidents out of the 39. They infer the American from buck. They took the meaning of buck as dollar. They have already heard that Nixon was involved in some sort shady dealings. None of them knew the meaning of buck as responsibility - they could not therefore reached to Harry S Truman.

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The quotations study It is a recent study performed in Manchester (Reason,

Horrocks, & Bailey, 1986) to test the following hypothesis: The amount of frequency-gambling (i.e., the tendency to emit high-frequency candidates) evident in the responses to general knowledge questions will be inversely related to the degree of relevant knowledge possessed by the respondent. The knowledge domain of the experiment was American Presidents. The study was carried out in (1) mapping phase, and (2) test phase.

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The presidential recognition study

In previous quotation study, frequency-gambling has

been shown to be evident as the subjects knew little about the domain knowledge (the American presidents). This study is designed to test the systematic manipulation of retrieval cues as well as to test the effect of domain knowledge.

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Both American & British students were taken. The

groups are divided into three classes, low knowledge (know only < 10 presidents), medium knowledge (between 10 & 30 presidents) and high knowledge (>30 presidents) The results from both American and Britain students provide qualified support for the notion that

a decrease in search specificity (whether due to make poor knowledge or imprecise cueing) leads to and increase in the frequency gambling and a consequent decrease in similarity matching.

The three studies confirmed the predictions of the

underspecification hypothesis.